Infatuation
by sleetinthesummer
Summary: Follow the development of Peeta's feelings for Katniss throughout his life. See how a curious kindergarten fascination becomes something so much more. I changed the rating to T just to be on the safe side.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

A five-year-old boy with ashy blonde hair grasped his father's hand with his own chubby one. They were standing outside a building together. "Daddy, I don't want to go to school today."

The boy's father chuckled. "But today is your very first day, Peeta. Don't you want to get a good look at the pretty girls in your class? I assume it's first come first serve, so if you miss the first day, you'll miss your chance at getting the best selection."

Peeta looked at his father with a questioning look. "I thought I was going to school to learn things."

His father smiled and bent down so he was at eye level with the young boy. "Yes, that's the most important thing. But son, it never hurts to have a little fun, too." He patted the boy on the shoulder, laughing to himself. "Your mother wouldn't be impressed if she knew I was filling your head with these ideas."

Peeta didn't really understand what his father was talking about, but he knew it had something to do with the girls in his class. He looked around, and his eyes settled on a little girl who was standing alone among the other children, all of which seemed to be accompanied by a parent.

"See that little girl?" Peeta's father asked, pointing at the girl wearing a red plaid dress and braids in her hair, the one his son was already looking at. "I wanted to marry her mother, but she ran off with a coal miner."

"A coal miner? Why did she want a coal miner when she could have had you?"

He smiled sadly, and answered, "Because when he sings... even the birds stop to listen."

Young Peeta looked down at his feet. "Oh." He was sad that his father wasn't able to marry this little girl's mother. He decided she would have made a better mother than his own, even though he didn't even know her. "What's the girl's name, Daddy?"

"I believe it's Katniss Everdeen."

"Katniss... that's a strange name."

"It's a type of plant, son."

"Oh." Peeta looked over at the girl again. She caught his gaze for a moment, so he smiled. She did not return the gesture. Instead, she adverted her eyes by turning her head in the other direction. "Katniss." Peeta whispered to himself. Then, he said a little louder. "You know, Daddy. That's not such a weird name after all. It's kind of nice. I think I like it."

His father chuckled. "You should become friends with the girl. It doesn't seem like she knows anyone."

"I'll try, Daddy. See you later!" Peeta said, waving enthusiastically as his father left the schoolyard.

Later, all the children were seated in a circle on the floor of the kindergarten classroom. Their teacher was explaining, with exaggerated enthusiasm, the classroom rules and the importance of following them. Peeta saw the girl Katniss, sitting cross-legged directly across from him. She wasn't paying much attention to the teacher; instead, she was fiddling with a loose thread on the hem of the dress. She seemed sort of lonely, as if the space between her and the children sitting on either side of her was larger than the space between the other kids.

At recess, Peeta saw Katniss sitting on the swings by herself. She was going very high and fast, and it frightened Peeta a little, but he still crossed the playground and sat on the swing next to her.

"Hi," Peeta said as she swung past. She didn't respond, so he repeated, a little louder this time, "Hi!"

Katniss looked at him suspiciously. "Hello."

"I'm Peeta! Your name is Katniss, right?"

Katniss kicked her feet on the ground below to stop the swing. "Yes. And you don't have to shout."

"I'm sorry." Peeta was already running out of things to say, so there was an uncomfortable silence between the two for a few moments. "You seem kind of lonely here all by yourself," he said after a while."

"I'm not." More silence.

Peeta began stirring up dust in the dirt with his feet. "Don't you want any friends?"

"I don't need them." Katniss' voice wasn't cold of hostile, just matter-of-fact.

"But..."

"I have to go now." Katniss stood up and walked to the opposite side of the playground, leaving Peeta on the swings, alone.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Hey there. This is the second installment of my story Infatuation. Thanks for all the support so far, and I hope you continue to read, and of course, review. :) By the way, sorry about the spelling error that was in the title when it was first published (whatever 'Infautation' means hahaha)._

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, or the characters, nor am I trying to claim them. I do however own this story and the idea.**

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Chapter 2:

Seven-year-old Peeta Mellark sat at a table, eating lunch with his large group of friends. There was nothing going on out of the ordinary on this particular day; Peeta was surrounded by many people, as usual, and Katniss Everdeen was sitting at a table in the corner, alone.

One of the boys at the table playfully flicked a piece of lettuce at Peeta's head. "Hey Mellark, why are you always making goo goo eyes at that Everdeen girl? You don't even know her."

"I wasn't making goo goo eyes. I was just looking. She seems pretty lonesome over there all by herself. And I have spoken to her before."

A girl with long blonde hair that was sitting next to him piped up, "If you think she looks so lonesome, why don't you go sit with her awhile? Maybe you can even invite her to come join us."

She had meant it as a joke, and everyone at the table chuckled. But Peeta didn't so much as crack a smile. He stood up, taking the tray that held his sandwich and an apple.

After passing several other tables full of chattering children, Peeta approached the one with a single occupant. He smiled tentatively. "Hi, Katniss. Mind if I join you?"

Katniss looked up. "Go ahead."

Peeta took a seat and began eating his lunch, but became instantly uncomfortable. Katniss was staring at his food, and she did not have a lunch of her own.

"What happened to your lunch?"

"I don't have any."

"Did not forget it at home?"

"No."

Peeta started to become confused. "So why don't you have anything to eat?"

Katniss didn't answer. She just stared at him straight on. Then Peeta remembered; Katniss lived in the Seam, the poorest part of the District. It was possible that Katniss didn't have lunch today because her family didn't have any to give her.

"Well, you could share mine, if you like." Peeta said, holding out half of his sandwich. "I'm not sure if you know this, but my father's a baker. He makes the best bread in the District, so I promise it's a really good sandwich."

Katniss hesitated. "You'd give me half of your lunch?"

"I don't mind. I'm not that hungry anyway." Peeta passed her the sandwich, which she seemed to take reluctantly.

Katniss took one bite of the sandwich, and Peeta could tell by the way her eyes lit up that she thought it was delicious. He couldn't help but wonder if that was the first time she had eaten anything all day.

Then, she surprised him by handing it back. "Thank-you. It's very good."

"Then why won't you finish it? Aren't you hungry?"

"Yes, but I have nothing to give you for it."

Peeta chuckled quietly. "You don't have to pay for it. It's just a small favour."

"A favour that I can't return." Katniss' eyes fell to the tabletop. "Thank-you for your generosity, but I can't accept your charity."

"It isn't charity!" Peeta exclaimed. "It's just one friend helping another."

"We aren't friends." Katniss said.

Peeta was deeply hurt by this statement, but felt foolish for expecting anything else. Of course they weren't friends, they had only ever spoken once. "Well, would you like to be friends?"

"I don't need friends. I'll be fine on my own."

"Then I guess you wouldn't want to join my friends and I at our table?"

Katniss met Peeta's gaze again. "Why are you being so kind to me?"

He rose from his seat. "I'm not sure, really. See you later, Katniss."

Peeta returned to his spot at the other table. He kept glancing in Katniss' direction in spite of himself, and to his surprise, she eventually met his gaze with the hint of a smile on her lips.

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_A/N: I always imagined Panem kids to be above average intelligence, that's why the children, especially Katniss, may seem a little too mature for their age. I did that on purpose._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm baaack! School is finally over, and that means I'll have plenty of time for writing fan fiction! :D This chapter is about the infamous 'boy with the bread' incident, from Peeta's POV of course. After that, I think I'm going to skip ahead to the events of the HG novel. That means I'll have to reread the novel, so I can't promise super frequent updates, but I'll try my best.** **_R&R_, si vous plait. =)**

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Peeta wiped the sweat from his brow. Last year, he mother deemed him old enough to give a hand around the bakery. Or, as she worded it, "Stop being so lazy and start working for your keep! It's about time you realized you're not a child anymore."

Peeta hated working in the bakery. Although he liked the actual baking part of it, it wasn't much fun working for his mother. He much preferred spending his time painting pictures, which he had to do in secret because his mother didn't approve.

On this particular afternoon, it was so cloudy and rainy outside that it could have almost been nighttime. Peeta was just about to take a couple loaves of bread out of the oven when he heard his mother yelling. He followed her voice, and found her standing in the back doorway.

Peeta crept up behind his mother, and peered out into the yard. His mother was shouting at a young girl, who was digging through their trash cans, looking helplessly for something to eat. It took Peeta a moment to realize that it was Katniss.

Katniss had not looked like herself for a while now, but she looked even worse at this moment. She was far thinner than usual, even more amplified by the fact that she was wearing a very large jacket; her eyes seemed to be sunken in, her cheeks were hallow, and she had the terrible resemblance to a skeleton. She was soaked and muddy, and she looked cold and tired.

Peeta tried to draw his eyes away from the horrific sight, but somehow, he couldn't.

"Did you hear me, Seam girl? I said move on! Do you want me to call the Peacekeepers? I am so sick of having brats like you pawing through my trash!"

Katniss said nothing. She just stared blankly at Peeta's mother as she replaced the trash can lid and backed away. But for a brief moment, Katniss caught sight of Peeta watching her.

Even as his mother returned to the kitchen, Peeta continued to watch her stumble toward the pig pen and collapse against the apple tree, until his mother shouted for him to get back to work.

Peeta decided he would have to help Katniss. As he reentered the kitchen, he could not get the image of her out of his head, so helpless and starving. His mother would never allow it if he gave her anything to eat. But he had to find a way to do it without her knowing.

Then it dawned on him. It he 'accidentally' burnt the bread, she would make him carry out to the pigs. He would just give it to Katniss.

Peeta approached the oven. As he was taking out two loaves, he dropped them into the fire long enough for them to burn slightly, then quickly took them out.

His mother was outraged. "You imbecile! How dare you burn that bread!"

"It was an accident, Ma, honest..." Peeta tried to lie, but it was too late. His mother had grabbed the closest object, a wooden spoon, and smacked him with it on the side of the face.

"You stupid, stupid child! You are going to ruin my business! Bring that bread out and feed it to the pig!"

Peeta clutched his cheek. It was already starting to swell, but he had won. He grabbed the bread and headed out the back door.

To his dismay, his mother followed him and stood in the doorway. She must have been watching to make sure he didn't give the bread to the Seam girl, so Peeta walked over to the pig pen and began breaking of the burnt bits and throwing it into the trough.

His mother was still yelling. "Feed it to the pig, you stupid creature! Why not? No one decent will buy burned bread!"

Peeta began to worry. What if she stayed in the doorway? Would Katniss realize the bread was for her and take it?

To Peeta's relief, he heard the soft jingle of the bakery bell. His mother disappeared to help the costumer. He knew he only had moments to act, so with a swift glance back at the bakery, and without looking at Katniss once, he tossed her the bread before quickly making his way back to the house. He never looked back.

The next day, Peeta's eye was turned black, and his cheek was swelled up even more. He was embarrassed to go to school; not just because of how he looked and the inevitable questions he would be asked, but because Katniss was sure to know he burnt the bread for her on purpose.

Of course, his parents made him go to school. And at one point, Peeta was walking down the hallway with a few of his friends, and they passed Katniss. He could feel her staring at him, trying to get him to look back, but he was careful not to acknowledge her. He was happy he was able to help her, but also humiliated.

At the end of the day, and after avoiding looking in Katniss' direction all day, he couldn't help but steal a look at her. Katniss quickly met his gaze, but they both looked away almost immediately.

After that, Peeta stopped trying to be friends with Katniss. It was obvious that she wasn't going to thank him for helping her out. He decided that his efforts were for a lost cause, and instead, continued to discreetly admire her from afar.


End file.
